Spices have become costlier in the kitchen markets of the capital thanks to an increase in demand over the last couple of weeks. Traders say the prices have gone up because of the increased demand ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. At the kitchen markets in Dhaka, including Karwan Bazar, different spices were being sold at higher prices yesterday. Cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cumin seed, pepper, ginger, dried chilli, turmeric and garlic were expensive, while the price of onion remained stable. Retailers alleged that wholesalers raised the prices of most of the spices cashing in on the increased demand before Eid-ul-Azha.

Consumers alleged that the prices increased due to the government’s lack of monitoring. In the wholesales market, cardamom imported from India’s Kerala and Tamil Nadu states was being sold for Tk. 2,200-2,600 a kg as against last month's Tk. 1,800-2,000. Clove was seliing for Tk. 760-800, up from Tk. 700-760 last week. Cinnamon was being sold for Tk. 395 as against Tk. 350 last week.

Ginger was selling for Tk 180-220 per kg. The imported variety of garlic became pricier by Tk. 20 a kg.

The price of local garlic went up to Tk. 160-180 a kg from Tk. 100-120 couple of weeks back.

Data provided by the TCB showed a 20-36 per cent hike in the garlic price and 20 per cent in the ginger price in a single week.

The price of onion went up to Tk. 45-48 a kg. The price of soybean oil increased from Tk. 80 to Tk. 90 per litre, while the price of palm oil rose from Tk. 70 to Tk. 75.

A businessman at Kawran Bazar said prices of some of essential spices rose over the past 15 days due to Eid.

He, however, said the prices did not increase compared to the previous years. “We’ve enough stock of spices,” he added.

“During Eid-ul-Azha, we usually see a sharp rise in prices of essential spices due to heavy demand in the local market every year,” he observed.

Vegetable prices remained stable in the last couple of weeks. At Karwan Bazar and Mirpur-2 kitchen markets, tomatoes were being sold for  Tk. 120-140 per kg, eggplants for Tk. 60-70, bitter gourds for Tk. 60-70, cucumbers for Tk. 50-60, ridge gourds for Tk. 80 and okra for Tk. 60. The price of chilli remained higher. It was sold for Tk. 180-200 a kg last week.

On the other hand, the price of beef increased last week, hitting consumers, especially those belonging to the low-income group, hard.

Consumers attributed this rise in the price  to stockpiling of cows and buffaloes by most of the cattle traders who hope to sell them at higher prices during  Eid-ul-Azha. The beef price increased by Tk. 20 as it was selling for Tk. 550-600 a kg yesterday. Buffalo meat was being sold for Tk. 480-520 a kg. Mutton was selling for Tk. 780-820 per kg.

The price of broiler chicken meat was, however, low at the kitchen markets. Broiler chicken meat was selling for Tk. 130-135 per kg, while the price of red cock meat was Tk. 200-210.